The fall holidays have come and gone, the leaves are changing, and camp is on our minds. Not just because we'll be spending this coming weekend with over 80 of our favorite 6th and 7th graders at URJ Eisner Camp for our annual BM3T Shabbaton. Not just because we Israeli danced until our feet hurt on Simchat Torah (check out our Facebook page for pictures!). Or because we had a wonderful time welcoming URJ Crane Lake Camp's Debby Shriber to share a little taste of what Crane Lake and Eisner are all about for many of our families considering Jewish overnight camp for the first time.Temple Beth Elohim loves Jewish camp! Over 200 of our students experience the magic of Jewish overnight camp each summer, but really it’s so much more than that. As a community, we have taken a number of pages out of the Jewish camp playbook and we have integrated many of our favorite aspects of the camp experience into the fabric that is woven throughout our congregation. It’s how we pray, it’s how we sing, it’s how we learn, and it’s how we live Jewishly 12 months a year. (Thank you Dan Nichols!)This culture is fueled in part by the passion that our Jewish campers bring home with them. Our campers consistently make connections between what they do at camp and TBE—and it enriches their experiences year-round. Members of our community - including both children and adults (many of whom are still campers at heart) - connect their youth group and camp experiences to the songs we sing, the prayers and melodies we include in our worship opportunities and the interactions, approach and vocabulary that create the foundation of Jewish learning and living at Temple Beth Elohim. Our culture of camping is also strengthened by our unique relationship with URJ Eisner and Crane Lake Camps, our movement's two regional overnight camps. During the months that TBE learning programs are running, our BM3T (grades 6 & 7) and Havayah (grades 8-12) students travel to Eisner for many of our shabbatonim (retreats). Each summer when camp is in session, over 60 TBE campers make Eisner and Crane Lake their Jewish homes away from home. Members of our Education and Clergy teams serve as staff and faculty at Eisner and visit our campers at Eisner and Crane Lake. In an effort to connect our congregation to Jewish Camping, Temple Beth Elohim has partnered with Combined Jewish Philanthropies and The Foundation for Jewish Camp in the CJP Jewish Camping Initiative. Our participation in this initiative has encouraged our community to make The Jewish camp experience a priority. The end goal? We want as many of our students to experience meaningful Jewish engagement opportunities throughout the year, including the summer. We are blessed to have many wonderful options for Jewish overnight camp in our region, and strive to help our families find the right fit for their campers-to-be.

It's October. While we prepare to set the clocks back, we encourage our community to think ahead to making Summer 2013 the summer of a lifetime. Learn more about the different opportunities that exist. Connect with the camp directors. Read the blog posts from our Summer 2012 road trip. Talk to Brett and Hannah about camp and other great experiences our local Jewish community offers our youth.

But don't just take it from us. Here are a few thoughts from members of our community: